Category Archives: Social interactions

Megan Duffy had a thoughtful post on not inducing anxiety in others. She mentioned the specific case of reducing anxiety in others by being really clear. Instead of saying something like meet me Thursday, say why. I agree that getting … Continue reading →

Is it true that a good measure of how well you know a foreign language is that you get the humor? If so, I failed German a decade or so ago when the Lufthansa agent in Frankfort very dryly told … Continue reading →

There are celebrations for milestones of various kinds. In Japan I hear turning 60 is a big deal. Birthdays, graduations, even publishing can be celebrated. But why not celebrate something that is under your control? How about cheering when you … Continue reading →

Do you know that personality characterization called OCEAN, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism? It is supposedly much more supported by research than the simple extraversion-introversion espoused by that Quiet book, and is not as random as the Myers Briggs … Continue reading →

The whole reason we do experiments blind, have rules against nepotism, and worry about inadvertent bias is that we are humans and these things go with the species, no matter how fair we try to be. Even though there has … Continue reading →

What if you found a partner you trusted and simply put your name on all of each other’s publications, asked a friend at the Evolution meeting in Snowbird. You would come close to doubling your reputation without doing any extra … Continue reading →

You will do few things more important in your academic career than organize a symposium for your retiring professor, or at least that is how I think of it. The point of this entry is to make it easier for … Continue reading →